Taking digoxin with other medicines and herbal supplements

Some medicines can affect the way digoxin works or can increase the risk of side effects.

Tell your doctor if you're taking any other medicines, including:

• medicines used to treat an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia), heart conditions or high blood pressure such as amiodarone, verapamil or diltiazem
• medicines that make you pee more (diuretics) such as furosemide
• medicines to treat bacterial or fungal infections, such as tetracycline, clarithromycin, erythromycin, rifampicin, trimethoprim or itraconazole
• medicines for arthritis, including ibuprofen, diclofenac, indomethacin, hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine
• medicines to treat HIV, such as atazanavir, darunavir, ritonavir or saquinavir

These are not all the medicines that can affect digoxin. Check the leaflet inside your medicines packet.

Some medicines that you can buy from a pharmacy or shop can also affect the way digoxin works.

Ask a pharmacist for advice before using antacids, kaolin (for stomach upsets) or laxatives (for constipation).

Do not take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen regularly without checking with your doctor first.

The herbal remedy St John's wort can affect how digoxin works. Tell a pharmacist or doctor if you're using this or thinking about using it.

There's not enough information to say that other complementary medicines, herbal remedies and supplements are safe to take with digoxin. They're not tested in the same way as pharmacy and prescription medicines. They're generally not tested for the effect they have on other medicines.

Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you're taking any other medicines, including herbal remedies, vitamins or supplements.